Electric door release



Aug. l2, 1930. A. HERZ ELEcTnxc noon RELEASE Filed Fab.. 21, 1925 llllill/ll l ffii fz 'Famed Aug.' 12, `1930V i( HERZ, OF CHICIAGO, ILLINOISELECTRIC Doon RELEASE i Application lcd February 21, 1925. Serial No.10,981.

Thisinvention in general relates to mechanism for closing doors,y andmore particularly to an arrangement' for eectingthe disengagement of adoor stop from the floor to Y permit the door check to 'became effectiveand close the door.V v .4 d

It is customary nowadays to maintain the door Vof private offices andsimilar places ,open throughthe medium of a Vdoor stop.

lio Executives and otherindividuals who occupy private offices havefound it advantageous to keeptheofliceidoor open so as, inaddition toproviding properventilatiomjto permit. persons to enter and leave theoffice Without :1,5 having to open andshut the door, thereby eliminatingnoiseA and other disturbances Vwhich might distract the attention of;the occupant of the office. Y`

Frequentlyv the occupant ofan office desires privacy. For anexample',some individual might come into the office to seehim and, dueto theparticular nature of the mat` ter under discussion, secrecyisidesired. 4 Heref tofore,in ordertoclose thedoor, it was nec,-

1 ff essary that the occupant of lthe ofce either do it'himself orsummonsomeone else, such as his secretary, todo" so.' In order `to summon thesecretary, he might pressa button operating an annunciator,visibletohisl secretary. rWhen the "secretary, comes `into the oiiice,`hef'has to tell her what to do.` This, as is readily apparent, occupiesand vrequires the time and attention of both the occupant of the officeand the secretary.` `Not onlyv does it distract the attention of theperson'in the soffice, but it causesthe occupant' ofthe oflice, as Well4as thesecretary,considerable inconvenience and unnecessary work. i vNow, I propose to eliminate theene'cessity 40 for either thefoccupantclosing the door him4 1self orsummoning someone else to do it, .byproviding anarran'gement including an electrical Vcircuit controlledby'a button. on the desk of the person in the oliice for disengaging thedoorstop from the 'licorv and thereby making the door-check effectivetojclose the door.V i im VI am awarethat the broad'idea of'fem'ployingmechanism to open and close a door or the like, is old, but itis not myvintention to fr 'checkeffective so as to closethe door.

claim this idea (broadly. According tomy invention, avery simple andeffective apparatus is used which permits the doorto be opened and heldin any desired positionpas well as to be releasedfrom that position. ,Y

i; mechanism built in accordance with the present invention also has theadditional ad? vantage of having a greater degree of adaptability to theusual type door than any of the heretofore types of door closingapparatus. The present mechanism can be installed in thejnaverage doorwith aminimuin-amount. of change and deviation from standardequipmentland hence with a minimum amount` of expense.,

The object .of the present invention isito provide anarrangementincluding lan electrical circuit for disengagin a door stop fromlthefloor, thereby ma ring the door i Infaccordance with the generalfeatures of the invention, there is provided a door check of anyusualtype, a doorstop, and an arrangement or mechanism including an elec.-trical circuit for4 disengaging the. door -stop 75 fromthe floor therebybringing` vthe door Vcheck into operation to close the door. 1 e Otherobjects" and advantages of the` presentfinvention will more fullyappearfrom the following detailed description, taken in connection withtheaccompanying drawings v which illustrate one embodiment thereof, and inwhichfA y v Figure l isa diagrammatic view embodied Withthe featuresofthe present invention; 85

Fig.V 2 is avertical sectional view ofthe door check-,attached to thelower corner of a doorftaken ateright angles, to the-plane ofthe'papers; l Y I ,l f Y f Fig.13is a horizontal sectional view taken 90on the'lineB-#S/of-Fig. 2; and

Fig-ais a horizontal sectional View taken f Referring now -to thedrawings in detail,

in which like reference numerals designate similar parts throughout theseveral views,

l0 denotes a door Which'may be of any-suitable construction or-type. Thedoor 10 illus-y i trated in Figwl, is of the panel type and is jprovided with-two panels-ll and4 1Q, which 100* reduce considerably theweight of the door.

The door 10 fits snugly in an opening 13 in `17. The door check 15, asis well known in the art, not only prevents the door 1() from beingslammed shut, but also, through a resilient medium inside of the doorcheck,

causes the door to gradually be drawn to thereby minimizing the` noiseresulting from closing the door.

Mounted on the lower corner of the door 10, is a usual type door stop,hereinafter referred to generally by reference character 18, slightlymodified to embody some of the features of the present invention.

The door check 18 comprises a casing 19 provided with two lugs 20 and aprojection 28 1), each being equipped with a small circular opening21.The door check 18 is fastened to the door by three screws 22 threadedthrough the openings 21 into the door 10. The casing 19 is preferably ofa cylindrical form inA its lower portion and at its upper portion isprovided with a lateral projection 23 in which is supported and housed asolenoid 25. The portion 23 maybe integral with the main housing 19 orit maybe fastened thereto in any suitable or desirable manner. Thehousing 19 is provided with acylindrical bore 26. Both the housing 19and the portion 23, which is shown integralk to 'the said housing, areopen at the top. A wall 27 of arcuate contour (Fig. 4) separatesthe-solenoid or electromagnetic coil 25 from the bore 26. This arcuateportion is integral with both the housing 19 and the portion 23. Theupper portion designated by referencenumeral 28 `of' thehousing 19, ispreferably thicker than the walls of the housing, in order to form ashoulder 29. A cover 30 is mounted over the bore 26 and the portion 23and is positioned below the shoulder 29. The cover 30 may be fastened inany suitable manner to the housing 19. Y

The cover 30 is provided with a circular `opening 31 and the lower partof the housing 19 is provided with a circular opening 32, both openingsbeing in alignment. Passing upwardly through the housing 19 through bothopenings 31 and 32, is a rod 33 which may be termed a plunger rod. Thelower end 34 of the rod 33 is enlarged, and secured thereto is acircular rubber member 35 for engaging the floor, hereinafter referredto generally by reference numeral 36. Positioned on top of the cover 3()is a leaf spring 37 and a trigger 38 which vit in a slot 39 formedby thewall of the housing 19 and the shoulder 29. The trigger 38 at oneendengages the shoulder `29 of the portion 28. The upper portion of therod 33 passes through an opening 40 in the leaf spring 37 and through anopening 41 in the trigger 38. r1`he opening 41 in the trigger 38 ispreferably a little larger in diameter than the diameter of the rod 33.The leaf spring 37 is adapted to at all times urge the trigger upwardly.The spring 37 and the trigger 38 may, if desired, be pinned to thehousing 19 in any suitable manner, although it should` be understoodthatthis is not necessary, in View of the fact that the rod 33 will`tend to hold both of them in position immediately under the shoulder 29of the portion 28 in the slot 39. That is to say, neither the triggernor the associated leaf spring can be removed without first withdrawingthe plunger rod 33 therefrom.

The outer end of the trigger is provided with an iron core vor tip 42,which extends through an opening 43 `in the cover 30. i The solenoid 25is equipped with a magnetic element 44 which may be of the same diameteras that of the tip 40 and is preferably in alignment with the tip so asto draw the said tip downwardly whenever it is energized by the saidsolenoid.

The rod-33 is equipped with a shoulder 45, located inside of the bore26. Surrounding the rod 33 intermediate the shoulder 45 and the lowerpart'of the housing 19, is a compression spring 46 which, at `all times,tends to urge the rod 33 upwardly. Projecting through the sides of theportion 23 of the housing 19 are a pair of terminals 47 and 48 to' whichare connected the leads of the solenoid 25.

The door 10is `connectedto the wall 14 by three suitable hinges 50, 51and 52. The terminal 47` (Fig. 1) is connected by a lead 53 of a circuit-hereinafterreferred to generally by reference character 49 through anaperture 54 in the door to the hinge 52. The lead 53 passes along thelower edge of the panel 12 under the molding strip 57 to the aperture54. The hinge 52 is connected by a lead 55 to one side of a transformer66. The terminal 48 is connected by ajlead 58 to the hinge 51. The lead58 passes along the lower edge of the panel l12 under the molding strip57 and at the point where the lead 53 enters the aperture 54 the lead 58is bent upwardly under the molding strip 59, through apertures 60 and61, positioned preferably at right angles, to each other to the hinge51. The hinge 51 is connected by a lead 62 to the contact element 64 ofa switch 63. The switch 63 is connected through a flexible element ormember 65 to the opposite side of the transformer 66.Y i

Y This construction of `connecting the leads of the circuit 49 to thehinges 51 and 52 enables very little of the leads comprising'theVcircuit 49 to be exposed on the door `10 and Ato also permit the doorto he opened and closed freely without any chance of the leads becomingbroken.,v Furthermore, even though the hinges 51 and 52 constitute partof the circuit 49, the voltage of the electric` current passingtherethrough being small,

'would not be suiiicientv to injure anyone or cause .serious leakage.,lThe transformer 66 may be of any'suitable or desirable type pref-yerably, it is, of thebell .ringingtype, which reduces the voltage forexamplefrom 110 volts`-down to 6 volts, While I have yshown a source ofalternating `current for operating the solenoid itis to be understoodthat a source of direct current may be provided instead. It is customaryto provide office buildings with a suitable source of low voltage director alternating current. The

switch or push button 63, although described as being composed of onlytwo elements, may be of any other suitable, construction.

The operation ofthe mechanism isias follows:

The door 10 may be opened to any desired position and retained thereinby the stop 18 which is operated in the usual manner. That is to say theplunger' 33 ispushed down-` wardly by pressing on it with your footbringing thel rubber cap into frictional engagement with the floor 36lthe spring i6 being compressed between the shoulder a' and the bottomof the casing 19 by the downward motion ofthe plunger.

Theplunger 33 is prevented from being forced upwardly',v under theaction of the compressed spring 46 by the trigger' 38 which is urgedupwardly by thelea rspring 37 bringing that portion of the wall of thetrigger 38, around the opening 41 and the plunger therein, intoirictionalI engagement with the surface of the rod 33; ADue to inclineoit the trigger when inf'its uppermost position the pressure exerted bythe compressed spring- 16 tends to force the roc 33 into tighterfrictional contactftherewith. `Thus the rod `33 is prevented'from beingsnapped back to its normal position once your footis removed from it. p,I

Obviously, the further kthe door 10 is opened the furtherrthe leveragemechanism 17 will be extended from the wall 14.

33 upwardly into its nuppermost position, and

out of engagement withl the floor 36.

Now the check 15 is free to function in its usual way causing the door10 to be gradually drawn into its closed position. It' desired,

lockingmechanism 7 5 may be provided for causing. the door to be lockedautomatically upon being drawn into its closed position:

Upon the button or the switch 63be1ng operated to break kthe circuit4:9, the lealspringv 37 will force the triggerff38 into its uppermostposition again.A After the doorV has been opened the plunger 33 may beforced down in the same manner as already described to cause the door tobe maintained in any open position desired. f Y

It is to be'understood that they invention is not to be limited by theabove detailed de-V scription, butfonly by the scope and spirito theappended claims. l

I claim `1. The combination, with a door and a door casing, comprisingvertically aligned hinges on said casing onto which the door is securedand arranged to swing into any oit' a plurality of positions, closingmeans carried by the door and operatively attached to the casing, a stopcarried by the door arranged to hold the door in any desired angularposi- Vtion, a releasing electro-magnet for said,y

stop, terminalsV for said magnet, conductors nol secured to saidterminals and passing through recesses inthe door to 'said hinges,conductors on the other side of said hinges secured there-j to andleading toa remote control means comprising a source of energyk and -aswitch for closing an electric .circuit .through said conductors foractuating said electroinagnet andreleasing said stop. Y

`2 .iThe combination, with a door and door casing, comprising verticallyaligned hinges on sadcasing onto which the door is secured and arrangedto swing into any of a plural* ityof angular positions, closing meanscar'- ried bythe door and operatively 'secured to the casing,a stopcarried by the door arrangedto hold the door in any desired angu-A lar`position, said stop comprising a plunger arranged to be pushed intoengagementwith the iioor,- triggerr means for holding the.V

plunger' in engagement with the floor, a 'releasing'electrosmagnet forsaid trigger, `for rendering said trigger ineffective, causing the'plunger to disengage from the floor, termi nals for said magnet,conductors secured to said terminals and passing through recesses in`thedoor to'said hinges, conductors on ther other side of said hingessecured thereto and leading to a remote control means compris! ing asource of energy anda switch for closing a circuit through saidconductor and saidA source `for actuating said electro-magnet andreleasing said stop from the i'loor.

3.- The combination, with a door and door casing, comprising verticallyaligned Vhinges on said casing onto which the door is secured Y andlarranged to swing into any of a plurality.`

of angular positions, closing means carried bythe rdoorand operativelyattached 'to the casing, a stop mechanism carried by the door arrangedto hold the door in any desired angular position, said stop comprising aplunger arranged to be pushed into engagement With the floor, triggermeans for holding the plunger in engagement with the floor, a releasingelectro-magnet for said trigger, for rendering said trigger ineffectiveand causing the plunger to disengage from the floor,

said electro-magnet comprising a solenoid and a core, a portion of saidcore being secured to the outer end of said trigger, terminals for saidmagnet, conductors secured to saidterminals and passing through recessesinthe door to said hinges, conductors on the y other side of said hingessecured thereto and ried by the door for locking said door in any Ii Oof said positions, said stop comprising a plunger arranged to engage thefloor, a spring-held trigger arranged to hold said plunger in engagementwith the floor, a coil spring surrounding said plunger for removing saidplunger from the floor when released, an electro-magnet for operatingsaid tri ger, said magnet comprising a solenoid an a core, a portion othe core being secured to said trigger, terminals on said soley noid,electric conductors secured by said terminals and passing throughrecesses in the door to said hinges, conductors secured to the otherside of said hinges and leading to a remote control means comprising asource of energy and a switch for completing a circuit through saidsolenoid and said source, for releasing said door stop When said switchis closed. t

5. The combination, With a door casing and a door arranged to fittherein and swing on a vertical axis through an angle to any desiredadjusted position, a stop mechanism for said door secured thereto andcarried by the door for locking said door in any of said positions, saidstop comprising a plunger arranged to engage `the iioor, a spring-heldtrigger arranged to hold said plunger in engagement with the floor, acoil spring surrounding said plunger for removing said plunger from thefloor when released, an electro-magnet for operating said trigger, saidmagnet comprising a solenoid and a core, a portion of the core beingsecured to said trigger, terminals on said solenoid, a remote controlledcircuit for said solenoid comprising electric'conductors secured by saidterminals and passing through recesses in the door,

